This week on Axe of the Blood God, Nadia, Kat, and Eric battle ogres with the help of a very special guest, Waah! Yes, our generous $100 Patron finally gets to shine on-stage, and he's picked a very cool topic: Square Enix's half-forgotten Ogre Battle series. This still-beloved string of strategy games was the precursor to Final Fantasy Tactics, and it's a darn shame it doesn't garner the acknowledgement it deserves. We'll fix that, though. Oh, we will definitely fix that. Also in this episode: Stardew Valley's creator is taking us to the Land of Chocolate, CD Projekt Red has some more delays for us, and the Mass Effect 3 ending controversy has reared its ugly, exhausting head once again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smoke 'em if you got 'em because it's time for a brand-new episode of Sharlayan Dropouts--Axe of the Blood God's cool and fashionable Final Fantasy XIV podcast. This week, Nadia and Mike talk about what it was like to go hands-on with a preview build of the upcoming Endwalker expansion. (Victor, meanwhile, drools in equal parts anticipation and jealousy.) Look forward to a thorough breakdown of some of the new maps, including the Old Sharlayan hub town. Rest assured the rumours about Nadia dealing fogweed in the fifth floor washroom are greatly exaggerated. [Cough.] Also in this episode:  Hironobu Sakaguchi, the father of Final Fantasy, is in deep with Final Fantasy XIV. Very deep. We got 'im, fellahs. Plus, the Moogle Treasure Festival is on again, so prepare for Praetorium memes.  Spoiler Warning Level: Yellow. The content is pretty evenly parsed out in this episode. The first half up to 27:48 is news and discussion about what we've been doing in-game. There are very mild spoilers about A Realm Reborn's final dungeon, and we talk a bit about the games' trailers. From 27:48 on, the episode is almost exclusively spoilers about Endwalker's mechanics, the preview dungeon we played, etc.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There be dragons and dragon slayers in this week's episode of Axe of the Blood God. Faithful Patron Brian Cowan (thank you!) requested that Nadia, Kat, and Eric wade neck-deep into the fascinating historical muck that is Falcom's Dragon Slayer series. They talk about its origins, the people behind its development, and the reasons why this long-running series is one of the most important contributors to the RPG genre. Also in this episode: Nadia shares some FFXIV: Endwalker impressions, Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 was saved from the brink of oblivion, and there are no cross-saves in the PC port of Monster Hunter Rise because Capcom loves suffering. Oh, and Kat and Eric talk about Evangelion Thrice Upon a Time while Nadia plays Pokemon Go. The discussion, which is spoilerish, runs from 49:35 to 58:23. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axe of the Blood God gets sPooOoOoky this week as Kat, Nadia, and Eric talk about "creepypasta" RPGs. Creepypasta is a weird term, but you're probably familiar with what it entails: Stories about haunted games that some poor hapless schmuck picked up at a flea market or whatever. Pokemon Lost Silver, BEN DROWNED, that one NES Godzilla cartridge that was filled with weird sprites and music...the list goes on. The trio also discusses RPG story moments that freaked them out. This episode is rated VS for Very Scary. Other topics this week: Thoughts on the shakeup at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Sora alighting in Smash like some kind of anime Jesus wearing oversized kicks, and the passing of Dragon Quest composer Koichi Sugiyama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who amongst us is truly righteous? It's probably not a great idea to look at Axe of the Blood God for paragons of virtue. That's why Nadia, Kat, and Eric invited Jason Wilson back this week to review Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. What's good? What's bad? Should you play? What are some good starting tips? Will you make friends with a horse that runs across roofs? You can if you believe you can. Also in this episode: Nadia keeps stanning Actraiser Renaissance, Amazon's New World MMORPG is a hit, and Jack from Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin said a bad word. We're telling mom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The '80s are alive and well in our souls -- and on Axe of the Blood God, too. This week, Nadia and Kat are joined by their good pal Jason Wilson as they continue the PC RPG Quest. It all started in the '70s, but PC RPGs got a major boost thanks to the rapid growth of the home computer market. It's a very important chapter of RPG history. After all, without Ultima, Wizardry, or SSI's Gold Box games, there'd be no Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy. What a sick, sad world that would be. Also in this episode: A new Nintendo Direct brings a deluge of RPG news, and Super Mario now shares his soul with Chris Pratt. Mama Mia! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a new month, which means the Sharlayan Dropouts have huddled themselves in the smoke hole again. (They just keyed Fourchenault's Chocobo chariot; best they lay low for a while.) Nadia, Victor, and Mike talk about the very lengthy Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter, and what it all means for the upcoming Endwalker expansion. That gaping hole in the moon...it's not going to get any bigger, right? Right. Also in this episode: Dragoons are pole dancing again, the Twins are overdue for their Elezen growth spurt, and Nadia learns you can't just breed brother and sister Chocobos in twisted eugenics experiments like you can in FFVII.    Spoiler Level: Yellow. The front end of the episode is largely spoiler-free, but we loosen up in the back half. Here are some handy-dandy time stamps: Up to 16:36 - News about the FFXV event, and discussion what we've been doing in-game. Some talk about raids, etc, but no major discussion about story events connected to them. Up to to 43:40 - Talk about the Live Letter and changes to FFXIV's classes. Some very minor spoilers that involve how each class has evolved since ARR. From 43:40 onward - Free discussion about Endwalker and the story beats leading up to it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Nadia and Kat get a little spoony and talk about one of the oldest and most controversial RPG classes: The Bard. Generous $50 Patron Drew Waranis requested we talk about these golden-throated music makers, and the Blood God is here to please. This episode dissects the history of the Bard, talks about the most famous bards in RPGs, and asks that one vital question: Do we need bards. Are they, like, cool, man? Also in this episode: Holy crap, Eastbound! Holy crap, Deltarune chapter 2! Holy crap, Tales of Arise already sold a million copies! What an exciting week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode of Axe of the Blood God, we continue our celebration of Namco Bandai Tales series by ranking all of its biggest games -- from the lowly Tales of the Tempest to the much-loved Tales of Symphonia!   In Part 2, we jump into the classics -- the entries that pushed the series forward and retain a special place in our hearts. Joining us once again are two huge Tails fans: Game Informer's Kim Wallace and friend of the pod Victor Hunter! It's Axe of the Blood God's biggest Tales celebration to date, so join us as we conclude the definitive ranking!   And as always, thank you to our Patrons at the $5 level and above, who get to access this entry a week early and ad free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tales of Arise has finally arrived, and it's bigger than ten Super Bowls. This week, Kat and Nadia are joined by USgamer alumni (and Normandy FM podcast host) Eric Van Allen as they dive deep into the latest entry in this beloved but oft-troubled RPG series. Is this the Tale that will save the world, and convert all the non-believers? Maybe. Just maybe. Anyway, it has a cute owl, so it's automatically GOTY. Also in this episode: Stardew Valley is finally finished (maybe), a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is in the works, and Yoko Taro is making a card-based game that will probably kill us all in our sleep, then instruct us to reflect on our words and deeds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices